Grateful for the soft weather on a Sunday morning in early Spring, I stopped to sit on a bench in the Santa Fe Plaza.  I was facing the buildings looking South and away from the Governor’s Palace. What I didn’t realize before I became more familiar with the city of Santa Fe is that only a few blocks beyond these buildings is the Santa Fe River. It is hard for me to even call it a river, it is so dry at times and in danger of disappearing altogether.  But before and after the year 1000 it flowed with force year round. The river was there to sustain the Indians some one thousand years ago when they settled not far from the place where I sat. It sustained the Spanish when they arrived from the South, from Mexico in 1609, to begin construction of the Governor’s Palace.

I visited Santa Fe ten years ago, before actually moving here.  I came, not because, like many of our visitors, it was a life’s dream. It was different for me.  I came with all intentions and happiness directed toward one thing: my boyfriend. Like a good host, he took me to visit the Plaza, the Cathedral, the Governor’s Palace, La Fonda.  Now, ten years later,  I can’t even begin to remember the times  that I’ve returned to the Plaza in Santa Fe. There are the various festivals and celebrations in the Summer and Fall. There is a Winter holiday memory of cutting  through the snow in the Plaza one night. The trees were all lit up and dazzling, and we, with heads bent down, braced against the cold. And when friends or family visit I begin by taking them to the epicenter of Santa Fe, the Plaza.  Where it all began and where it still goes on.

PALACE OF THE GOVERNORS

Turning now, facing North, you will see the Palace of the Governors  on the other side of the Plaza.  This is the oldest continuously occupied public building in the United States.http://www.palaceofthegovernors.org/index.php,   Santa Fe was only a small outpost in the the New Mexico Territory which included New Mexico, Colorado, California, Arizona, Utah, Nevada and parts of Texas! 

You can visit the Palace of the Governors by entering through the New Mexico History Museum.  If you have time it is worth it! You experience the building how it was and how came to be. You will also learn of the lives of the people who lived and worked there.  Or you can walk the length of the building’s exterior portal, visiting the Native Americans who set their treasures on blankets under the portal and along the length of the building.

Exposed original walls:

LA PLAZA SENA

Coming out from under the portal on the East side, cross the street and walk the next block.  Your are now on East Palace Avenue.  Halfway down the block pass the entrance to The Shed.  Enter through another portal that takes you into La Casa Sena, an old, venerable hacienda style adobe structure  http://lacasasena.com/sena-plaza/.  I always love walking through the portal of the Casa Sena..  Even during busy times of the day it doesn’t seem rushed and in the summer it always seems cool. Unusual for a desert setting, it is lush green, overgrown and on the wild side.   Because it is an old building it takes you somewhere else.  In this case somewhere else is Sena Plaza, old hacienda style adobe home built by one of the old and noble families of Santa Fe.  Imagine the courtyard with only fledgling green, chickens, a coach house, servant’s quarters and two wells, one of which you can still see.  Look up to the second floor and imagine a ballroom where friends and visitors were entertained.   

If you are hungry The Casa Sena Restaurant and The Shed are two great options to try some Southwest cuisine.  In the summer you can sit in the courtyard of La Plaza Sena surrounded and cooled by the old green vegetation.  The Shed is a favorite of locals for traditional New Mexican dishes, like blue corn enchiladas.  This was also an old home so you have the experience of eating in typical cozy rooms.  If there is a line (and there usually is) make a reservation, continue on your walk and show up again at the appointed time.

CATHEDRAL PARK, CATHEDRAL BASILICA OF SAINT FRANCIS OF ASSISI

Leaving the old hacienda, look straight ahead to Water Street.  On your right you will see the beautiful building  for the Museum of Contemporary Native American Art.  This houses the largest collection of Native American art is the United States with work from almost six hundred tribes.  Plus there is a beautiful sculpture garden in the back.  Cross Water Street and visit Cathedral Park, especially if the weather permits and if  you need to chill.  Literally so, especially in the summer given the canopy of old trees and a carpet of green grass.  Take time to enter the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi, https://cbsfa.org/home0.aspx.  Since 1626 this area has been a long work in progress.  Another church stood where the Cathedral is now, but was destroyed in the Pueblo Indian Revolt in 1626.  It wasn’t until 1716 that the Parroquia was built.  Then in 1869 Archbishop Jean Baptiste Lamy started construction of the present day cathedral, building the structure around the Parroquia.   Except for a chapel on the north side of the cathedral, all of the remaining Parroquia was then taken down.

In the remaining wing of the Parroquia, in the center of the altar, is the image of  La Conquistadora, the oldest statue of the Virgin Mary in the United States.  She was originally brought to Santa Fe from Mexico in 1625 but has held the place of  honor in the Parroquia since 1717.  There is not only an interesting history surrounding her, but La Conquistadora has a rich and expensive wardrobe that includes clothing, crowns, jewels and wigs…close to 300 outfits in total.

LA FONDA HOTEL

As you leave through the brass metal doors of the Cathedral, look straight ahead.  Cross the street and head West toward the next corner and La Fonda Hotel. https://www.lafondasantafe.com/. Since the founding of Santa Fe in 1609, there has always been an inn or a hotel on this corner.  It was  the end of the many long journeys.  Many taken on the Camino Real de Adentro from Mexico to Santa Fe.  It is also the end of the eight hundred mile Santa Fe Trail between St. Louis and Santa Fe. Until the railroad came to town, all traffic and commerce between St. Louis and Santa Fe began and ended here.

Being a destination, Santa Fe has a wealth of beautiful hotels.  But like La Casa Sena, when I walk through the doors of La Fonda I feel a strong connection to a long history.  It’s my favorite hotel here. Throughout the year I will find a reason to go in and visit again.  Try The French Pastry Shop for a croissant and coffee but for a more substantial meal head inside to La Pazuela.  Tables here are arranged around a center fountain in what used to be a courtyard and is now a beautiful sunny spot with a glass ceiling.  

CONCLUSION

Indian Nations, Spain, Mexico and finally the United States when in 1846 Brigadier General Kearny led his soldiers into the city and planted the flag squarely in the Plaza.  All of them took and all of them gave dearly for this small patch of land.  Like the river that sustained them all, they have all in turn nourished, contributed, continue to contribute to the character  that makes Santa Fe The City Different.  The city that intrigues so many and that calls us to come see for ourselves.